Eat like a genius

We eat more junk food today than ever before. Which is not that strange considering how accessible and time-saving it is.

Unfortunately, it – surprise, surprise – seems like industrially-produced food also has some drawbacks. At least according to science.

Studies have, time after time, shown that processed foods often contain mysterious additives and excessive amounts of salt, saturated fats and sugar which can increase the risk of serious diseases and cause health issues. And according to the latest findings, it’s not only our bodies that are affected. Newresearch shows that our brain’s cognitive skills can deteriorate. Simply put, junk food can make us stupid.

Our focus here at Ankarsrum, however, is to manufacture kitchen assistants of the utmost quality. We’re no dietary experts or scientists, but we firmly believe that a smart and fun way of knowing what you fuel your body with is to cook the food yourself. From the ground up. At least a couple of times a week.

On this site, we’ve collected authentic family recipes of dishes that have nurtured some of the world’s most brilliant minds. And even though we can’t guarantee that these recipes will lead to a marked increase in brain capacity, we are convinced that these dishes, and homemade food in general, are more wholesome for both body and mind than junk food in all its varieties.

See you in the kitchen.

Ankarsrum Assistent Original

August Strindberg's green soup

August Strindbeg

Author & Artist

1849 – 1912

The multitalented artist August Strindberg was born in Stockholm in 1849. He is considered to be one of Sweden’s most influential writers of all times. Throughout his career, Strindberg managed to write 60 plays and 30 novels – many of which have been the source of inspiration to the greatest scriptwriters and authors of our time.

Not only was Strindberg a skilled writer, he was also a very talented painter. However, like so many other great painters, his work was not given the recognition it so richly deserved during his lifetime. Today, Strindberg’s paintings are sold for mind-boggling amounts of money at international art auctions.

Apart from his writing and painting, Strindberg was famous for his hearty appetite, and he often made reference to food in his various texts. The following recipe is for a vegetable soup which was an intrinsic part of Strindberg’s favourite meal which consisted of three courses – steak, vegetable soup and pancakes with jam.

August Strindberg's green soup

Clarifying notes by Ankarsrum are marked in red

Ingredients

Portions: –

Metric

US

Ingredients

1/2 - 1

cauliflower head

4

small carrots

1

small leek or parsnip

5,3 oz

sugar snap peas

3,5 oz

fresh baby spinach

4,2 cup

water

2 tbsp

concentrated vegetable stock *(about 2 stock cubes)

2

egg yolks

1/2 cup

cream

salt

white pepper

1/2 cup

chopped parsley

Directions

Step 1

Rinse and prepare the vegetables. Chop the cauliflower head into small florets, cut the carrots into batons, slice the leeks and cut the sugar snap peas in half if necessary.

Step 2

Lightly fry the cauliflower, carrots and leek in a large pot.

Step 3

Add water and stock and bring to boil with the lid on until the vegetables are almost soft.

Step 4

Add the sugar snap peas and spinach and let simmer for a couple of minutes.

Step 5

Turn off the heat. Mix egg yolks with cream and stir gently into the hot soup. Add salt and pepper to taste and finish by sprinkling the soup with freshly chopped parsley.

Make it easier with Ankarsrum Assistent Original

Use the vegetable cutter from Ankarsrum with your Assistant Original to easily cut the vegetables for the soup.

Danish rye bread

Ingredients

Portions: –

Metric

US

Day 1

2 cups

water

4 cups

coarse rye flour

1/2 cup

rye sourdough starter

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp

roasted sunflower seeds

1/4 cup

flaxseed

1 tsp

salt

Day 2

The dough from day 1

3/4 cup + 2 tbsp

water

1/2 tsp

fresh yeast / instant yeast

2 1/4 cups

coarse rye flour

1 1/4 cups

all-purpose flour

1/2 cup

rye sourdough starter

Directions

Step 1

Mix all the ingredients for day one in the stainless steel bowl. Cover the dough and let it stand at room temperature for at least 12 hours.

Step 2

Assemble the Assistent with the stainless steel bowl, dough knife and dough roller. Start the Assistent on low speed and add all the ingredients for day two. Mix on low speed until blended, pull the arm towards the middle if necessary to help blend the ingredients.

Step 3

Set the timer for 12 minutes and let the Assistent knead at the lowest speed until a smooth dough is formed.

Step 4

Cover the bowl with the lid and let the dough rise for 2 hours.

Step 5

Grease 2 (1.5 quart) loaf pans with vegetable oil and divide the dough evenly among the pans. Cover them with a towel and let the dough rise until it reaches up to the edge of the baking pans.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 210 C (410 F). Bake the bread in the lower part of the oven for 60 minutes. If the top of the bread is browning too quickly, position an own rack above the bread and place a baking sheet on the rack to shield the bread from excess heat. No aluminum foil needed.

Step 7

The bread is ready when the core temperature is 98 C (208 F). Cover the bread with a kitchen towel and let it cool on a wire rack.

Evangelos Katsioulis’s Blue Ribbon Apple pie

Try this apple pie, favored by the the man with the world’s highest IQ – Evangelos Katsioulis.